Brick.



J. R. ROOT.

BRICK.

APPLlCATlON FILED MAR. 6,1916- Patented Feb. 5,1918,

lllll lll'll JOHN R. ROOT, OE EEEBRE HAUTE, INDIANA.

BRICK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 191%..

Application filed March 6, 1916. Serial No. 82,438.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that 1, JOHN R. Roor, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Terre Haute, county of Vigo, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bricks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a brick.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide continuous wire cut ribs on the side of a brick to serve as spacers, particularly for bricks used in paving, which are set on edge, to facilitate the filling of the joints with a binder used to hold the bricks together. Others have provided bricks having projections formed by rolls or pressure devices; bricks also have been provided with projections formed by pressure of the clay bar so that parts will enter recesses in the roll. In each instance, the object has been to provide projecting parts to serve as spacers so that the cement, grout, or other filler, can have access to the spaces between the bricks when they are laid, particularly in paving.

Advantages inhere in bricks which are wire-cut. Where such bricks are run through pressure devices to form the projections, the expense of manufacture is increased and the pressing operation renders smooth the previously wire-cut roughened surface. Bricks having their side faces rough, as will result from wire cutting, are considered superior to those having smooth side faces, particularly for paving purposes, as the bonding material or filler will better adhere to a roughened surface than to a smooth one.

In all brick having projections for th purpose above specified, it is desirable to dispose these projections so that they cannot be chipped 01? at the top and bottom of the brick and to so form and dispose them that they will offer no interference to the flow of the filler between the adjacent faces of adjacent bricks. For the reasons previously specified, it is advantageous to provide a brick which has roughened faces formed by wire cutting, butwherein the projections themselves will neither be directly formed by wire cutting, nor made as continuous ribs, but, on the contrary, will be in the form of lugs, made on the wire cut brick at the time of its manufacture out of the clay bar so that all subsequent steps, such as re-pressing for the formation of the projections or lugs, with incldent cost of manufacture, and smoothing of the surfaces, will be obviated. Furthermore, the provision of a brick having lugs or projections formed otherwise than by forcing of the clay under such pressure through rolls havingrecesses, has the advantage of saving the cost of lubrication of the rollers. Another advantage gained by the formation of the projections or lugs by other means than pressure devices, is the elimination of the fault of the clay adhering to the recesses in the pressure devices, or rolls, which are used for the formation of the projections, and by which the projections or lugs are thus made of different sizes and with no regularity as to number, with incident disadvantages when in use.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the substantial and expensive defects and disadvantages inhering in wire cut, rib-projection bricks, on the one hand, and in lug formation by ire-pressing or pressure roll formation, on the other hand, and to provide a brick which will have well defined lugs of approximately uniform size and spacing so located with reference to the upper and lower faces of the brick that they will not be liable to chip when in use, and, while serving as spacers, will permit free flow of the binding material between them and between adjacent brick which may be laid as a pavement or other structure.

In producing-my improved brick there is first formed on the clay bar continuous ribs disposed well below the upper face and well above the lower face thereof; sections of said ribs on the clay bar are then cut out to form successive lugs out of each rib by the uncut portions thereof, successive brick being finally cut from the clay bar after the previous formation of lugs thereon as aforesaid. The brick may have smooth upper and lower faces, or, these may be roughened in the process of manufacture. The sides are preferably wire cut, or if not wire cut, are roughened or scratched, but the lugs are not wire out other than that they are defined or demarked by the use of wire cutting means for eliminating successive portions of the previously formed ribs. The ribs are die-formed by a suitable die at the mouth of the brick machine, clay bar.

The improved brick may be produced from, either a double clay bar or a single clay bar which is wire cut to sub-divide. it

from which issues the Cir into two clay bars, as it issues from the brick machine, or from a single clay bar.

Knives, instead of wires, may be used in carrying out the cutting and severing operations in the production of the brick.

In an application executed of even date herewith, I have set forth and claimed a machine particularly adapted for the production of my improved brick, on a longitudinally wire-cut clay column, but I do not limit myself to the manufacture of my improved brick by such a machine which, however, is shown and described herein to illustrate how the brick is produced.

'In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective of a machine adapted for producing the brick, except the final severance of the bricks;

Fig. 2, a detail perspective of a portion of a double or longitudinally cut clay bar as it appears with the ribs formed thereon and before portions are cut from said ribs to form the lugs;

Fig. 3, a detail perspective of a portion of a longitudinally cut double clay bar after the rib have been cut out to form the lugs; and

Fig. 4, a detail perspective of a completed brick.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the head of an ordinary brick makin machine is shown at 1 to the mouth of which is attached a die 2 which has grooves 3 in its vertical side edges,

- two bars of which are formed by the wire,

knife, or cutter 6 attached to the flanges 7 and 8 on the die 2. If but one clay bar is to be provided, the grooves 3 will be provided on only one of the vertical side edges of the die.

Where a smooth side is desired on the juxtaposed faces of the double clay bar 5, 5, along the division line 9 a knife blade will be provided, and when a roughened surface is desired, a cutting wire such as shown in Fig. 1 at 6, is employed.

If a single column clay bar is formed, not only will the grooves 3 be omitted on one vertical side ed e of the die 2, but also, at

that edge there may be provided, if desired,

a cutting wire so that that face of the single column clay bar will be roughened. if roughening is not desired, the edge on the die will form a smooth surface and the cutting wire will be omitted.

As the brick machine forces the clay bar through the die 2, the set, or sets, of grooves 3 from continuous ribs or beads 4 on the side of the clay bar, and where the clay bar is split by the knife or wire 6, these continuous ribs or beads will appear on both sides thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, where the length of the beads or ribs is somewhat exaggerated. As the clay bar issues from the die 2, it is received on a belt 10 of the table 11, said belt running over rollers 12 and end pulleys, one of which is she vn at 13.

Having formed the longitudinally extending continuous ribs t as shown .in Fig. 2, by the act of forcing the clay through the die 2, the next step is to cutaway or remove sections ,of these ribs so that there will remain other sections or portions thereof which will then stand out from the face, or faces, of the clay bar in the form of lugs 14, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. To accomplish this step, the machine of Fig. 1 is provided with a rocking or vibrating arm 15' which is journaled at 16 and 17 in the upper and lower flanges 7 and 8 and is adapted to swing toward and away from the ribbed side of the clay bar. If a double or split clay bar composed of the sections 5, 5 is being formed, there will be provided two of these rocker arms 15 and allied devices now to be described, one on each side of the double clay bar, so that the ribs on the section 5 will be cut out just as are the ribs on the section 5. If a single clay bar is being formed, the ribs t being only formed on one side of the clay bar, only one of the cutting out devices will be provided. The cutting out device 18 may be in the form of a wire with suitable tension and adjusting means, or a knife may be employed. If it is desired to roughen that sideof the clay bar on which the lugs are to be formed, the wire 18 may be adjusted or arranged'to make a little deeper out than the depth of the ribs at, so that it will scratch or roughen the face of the clay bar. I may, however, use a scratcher of any ordinary or preferred form,

at points between the ribs 4 and above and below these ribs in the general region of the mouth of the die2 so that this scratcher will act upon the side of the clay bar before the latter is operated upon by the cut out device 18. r

A bracket 19 is secured to the head of the brick machine or to the flange 8' and has a sleeve 20, An operating rod-21 has a splined or square portion'22 sliding in a corresponding opening in the sleeve or guide 20 and is provided with a'link connection 23 with an arm 2 1 on the rocker 15. An adjustably tensioned spring 25 is interposed between the arm 24Land head 1 and serves to move the rocker 15 toward the side of the clay bar to position the cutting out device 18 so that it will remove sections of the ribs 4. 'To cause the cutting out operation to occur at regular intervals withintermediate release from the ribs so that the lugs 14 will be formed, a cam 26 is adapted to cooperate with the roller: 27 on the end of the operating rod 21. The cam 26 may be geared to the shaft of the pulley or drum 13, or, if this cam is of the same size as the pulley, it may be directly connected to the shaft of the latter, but it is obvious that various operating means could be provided to swing rocker in opposition to the spring 25 to produce the lugs 14.

As the clay issues from the die 2, the grooves 3 first form the continuous longitu dinally extending ribs 4. Thereafter, the cutting out device 18 is forced into the ribs 4 and the timing of the cam 26 is such that the cutting out device 18 dwells in its inward position, cutting off a given length or section of the ribs 4, as the clay bar advances, and the cutting out device is then retracted and shortly afterward again engaged with the ribs 4 to cut out other sections thereof. The uncut parts of the ribs 4 constitute lugs 14 which are thus provided at uniformly spaced intervals and, as the ribs 4 are die-formed by extrusion, as distinguished from pressure of any kind to ward the face of the clay bar, these ribs being of uniform height, the resulting lugs 14 are of uniform height.

Any suitably operated out off means may be provided to operate transversely of the clay bar whether single or double, to regularly sever the sections thereof after suitable travel on the table 11, to form the completed bricks, one of which is shown in Fig. 4.

The transversely operating out off or brick severing means may be either a knife or a wire according to whether a smooth or a roughened end is desired.

In Fig. 4, I have shown how, by setting the wire 18 so that it will cut a little below the bases of the ribs 4, it may be used as aroughening means for the side of the brick as shown at 28 in addition to cutting out the parts of the ribs which are to be removed to form the lugs 14. Should the clay bar slip on the table, the transversely operating cut-oft or brick severing device may cut at a point Where a lug 14 will be partly severed, as shown at 29, but this does not necessarily occur in carrying out the process.

Copies The completed brick of Fig. 4 has lugs 14 which are located below the upper face 30 of the brick and above the lower face 31 thereof, and as the lugs are of uniform height in respect to the side of the brick from which they project, they enable the bricks to be laid, for paving or other pun poses, in substantial parallelism and obviate the varying and non-uniform heights of lugs or projections which result from forming lugs on a brick by pressure or re-pressing. Furthermore, being independent lugs, as distinguished from continuous lugs or ribs, free flow of the binding material be tween adjacent bricks is permitted. An added advantage resides in the location of the lugs 14 below the upper face 80 and above the lower face 31 of the brick, as there is no possibility of the chipping off of these lugs when the brick is in use.

The lugs produced from one rib are disposed opposite the spaces cut from another rib. The ends of the lugs may be inclined, due to the inclination of the wire 18.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A brick having opposite fiat faces, one of which is provided with a plurality of outstanding lugs arranged in upper and lower rows, the lugs of each row being opposite the spaces between the lugs of the other row.

2. A brick having opposite flat faces, one of which is rough, the other face being provided with a plurality of outstanding lugs arranged in upper and lower rows, the lugs of each row being opposite the spaces between the ings of the other row.

3. A brick having opposite fiat rough faces, one of which is provided with a plurality of outstanding lugs arranged in up per and lower rows, the lugs of each row being opposite the spaces between the lugs of the other row.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

JOHN R. ROOT.

of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the fiommissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

